Dirk van der Heide

Old as this is, it might still be a good book to educate 8-to-12s about World War II. It's written quite simply, but you can see Dirk's anguish as his town is bombed and people he knows are killed and he passes corpses and wounded people in the roads -- and then his mixed relief and homesickness when he is able to escape the country to safety in the UK and US. I wish I knew what happened to him and his sister.

I loved this book as a kid but have been recently told it's probably fiction. Any help in researching the title would be greatly appreciated!